recording acoustic and vocals, inexperienced player

[Ronk]

Hi Guys,

first post on this forum having been a lurker for a while. At the weekend a recorded a guy from work at his house playing acoustic and singing at the same time. He hadnt done any recording previously and im not sure how experienced he is with playing either. Non the less, he was keen and willing to pay me for my time so i tried to be as constructive as possible.

initially i set up an LDC for vox and an SDC on the guitar with a DI feed just because it was there. I was able to wander around with my headphone on whilst he was playing to get a sweet spot unfortunately he was fairly mobile and ended up moving about A LOT! Eventually i got rid of the guitar mic and used the LDC for both vox and guitar.

On the whole it sounds as good as it could do given the player/instrument/room but i was wondering how i might tactfully ask him to stay still when trying to record without making him feel uncomfortable? he is completely new to recording and perhaps doesnt appreciate how much difference his 'dancing feet' are making to the recording im trying to capture!

great forum

cheers

Ronk

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Be honest and explain the problem to him. You're both there to make a good recording and he's as responsible for the sound as you are. If you're having trouble convincing him do a take with him sitting still and one with him moving and play both back to back.
Once you've done that get him a chair.
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Dave

http://adavidmackinnon.blogspot.com
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[Nick Sevilla]

Usually I try my best so that the musician is as comfortable as possible.
He likes moving around?

I'll use a LDC in OMNI pattern to get an overall sound with no proximity effect from his moving around. and then maybe another LDC at guitar height and about 2-3 feet away, to get more movement and guitar. If the opposite is needed, more vocal, then I'd rent a small lavalier and stick that near the mouth hole to get more vocal. Since the lavalier is also omni, phasing stuff will be simpler to deal with.

Think of a mobile guitarist like you would a percussionist with a giant percussion table. You're going for an overall good sound, and not as much detail as you would with a less mobile setup.
Just embrace the guys moving around as part of the performance.

You should see some flamenco guitarists when they get excited...
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The Song. Nothing else really matters.

[JWL]

Agreed about the omni mic. If you can work in a well-treated room that will help a lot, because the treatment will make the whole room more consistent and makes mic placement matter less, so if he moves somewhat it won't be nearly as audible.

This is my favorite approach for recording singer/songwriters in general:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_b3gwDzcVo
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Making the world sound better, one room at a time

[fossiltooth]

Nick, that is one of the few times I've heard your address a legitimate question with due humility and a positive attitude. And to a newcomer no less! Well done. This is very becoming on you. Keep it up. Plus, it was good advice to boot.
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Justin Colletti
Audio Engineer, Journalist

Read "Trust Me, I'm A Scientist". It's good.

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[Nick Sevilla]